MIA: an Avatar Whodunnit Spoof
by Narada
Summary: My friends and I invite the Avatar characters to a 2nd season celebration. Then things take a horrible turn, and guess who's on the case! Act 8 is finally up!
1. Prologue: Party Time!

_**DISCLAIMER: NO, I DO NOT OWN AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER OR ANY RELATED FRANCHISE. THIS FANFICTION WAS COWRITTEN WITH TALLOK AND AOINA.**_

_**SUMMARY: MY FRIENDS AND I INVITE THE AVATAR CHARACTERS TO A NEW SEASON CELEBRATION AT TALLOK'S HOUSE. BUT THEN SOMETHING AT THE PARTY GOES HORRIBLY WRONG, AND GUESS WHO'S ON THE CASE **_

_**(RATED K+ FOR SOME CRUDE REMARKS.)**_

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Tallok sat in the living room. Hanging from the staircase was a banner reading "Happy 2nd Season Avatar!" There was a knock on the door. Tallok looked to the door and said loudly, "Oh! That must be her!"

With that said he opened the door to let Narada through. Narada smiled and nodded, "Hey! What's up?"

In response Tallok shrugged his shoulder, "Not much. Where's Aoina?" He asked, noting that the other female wasn't here.

Narada gestured out towards the door and replied with, "She had some last minute invitations to hand out. How about you?"

Tallok grinned widely, "I'm almost done with decorations. How's the food coming?"

"I brought a few boxes of Mom's tea in case Iroh's feeling peckish, and the deliver guys from Pizza Hut are unpacking the rest of it in the back. Can ya help 'em out?"

With a nod Tallok said, "Sure! Let's go."

They all head into Tallok's living room where there are several tables set, and two Pizza Hut delivery guys are loading pizza, chicken wings, and soda onto the tables. Narada waved as she walked in. "How's it comin' fellas?"

The one that spoke had his hat on backwards and mumbled, "That's a lotta stuff you ordered ma'am. What's the occasion?"

Tallok looked shocked, "You mean you didn't hear! Avatar's going on its second season!" His voice carried through the whole house.

By now the second delivery guy had taken notice of the conversation and his jaw dropped. "Avatar? Holy crap I love that show!" He yelled in response, launching his tall frame up and down a few times.

Again the first with his hat on backwards spoke, "Damn right. There was one time he called in sick 'cause there was a marathon of it on that night!" He gave his friend a sidelong glance and grinned.

Narada blinked, "Wow, glad to see we got fans helping us. You boys think you can stay for the party?" She asked curiously.

The first delivery guy shrugged to his partner, "Well, this is our last delivery before our shift's over..."

Before he could finish Tallok had interrupted, "Great! We still need some setting up before the actual party though. So why don't you guys handle the decorations while Narada and I finish up?"

The delivery guys stood in a mock soldier position and said at the same time, "Sir, yes sir!"

Narada smirked and rolled her eyes. "At ease boys. It's just the streamers."

Ten minutes had passed and the doorbell rang, signifying that someone had arrived. Narada shouted that she'd answer and as she opened the door, Aoina entered.

Tallok saw her and then rushed foward. "Squee! You made it!"

Aoina nodded before shrugging, "Yeah, I wasn't sure I even sent 'em all. I take it y'all are set up here?"

Narada nodded, "Yep. Now we just have to wait for the guests."

With that said there was a pause as they all glanced to eachother not sure of what to do with themselves.

Tallok was the first to speak up and address this dilemma. "So," he began as he drew out the letter O, "what do we do in the meantime?"

Aoina arched a brow. "I dunno. Wanna play some Mortal Kombat?"

At her suggestion Narada questioned, "Which one?"

Aoina replied instantly with, "MK Gold."

In response Narada said, "M'kay." And with that the two ran off to the basement to go and turn on the playstation and start playing the game.

Tallok wasn't able to protest and only managed to shout out after them, "I play winner!" Then he was racing off after the two.

By now it had seemed like only minutes had passed of their playing Mortal Kombat, but it had been a good deal longer, and with many battles. A voice boomed out from the television, "Finish Him!" There was a pause, then a kissing noise followed, soon after a balloon inflating, and finally an explosion signaling the end of yet another round. The voice returned, "Kitana wins! Fatality."

Narada laughed and looked to Tallok. "I totally just owned you! Hahaha! Whadya say to that?" In response she got a glare that shot daggers at her accompanied by silence.

Aoina rolled her eyes, "I don't see why you always play Kitana anyways, Mileena owns her any day."

Narada looked over and shook her head, "No way! Kitana's Kiss of Death Fatality owns all!"

And then the doorbell rang, and Tallok shot up and rushed to the door muttering, "Finally!" He opened the door to see Sokka standing with Katara and Aang walking up behind him.

Sokka muttered, "Stupid planes, sorry we're late."

Narada shrugged and said, "You and everyone else we invited! Come on in." She gestured inside as Tallok stepped aside.Sokka went in first followed by his sister and Aang, who seemed to be suffering from a bloody nose. Tallok cringed, "Ouch! Battle gone wrong?"

Sokka answered for Aang, "Nosebleed. I told him not to have Appa go that high!"

Aoina looked a bit sympathetic before grabbing a handkerchief and handing it to him. "Here." She handed the cloth to Aang who in turn held it to his nose. Aoina tilted her head, "And try to tilt your head up, they say that helps."

Aang smiled, "Thanks!" He tilted his head upward and asked in a slightly nasal voice, "Where can we leave Appa?"

Tallok pointed in the direction of the garage, "Just put him in the garage, Mom won't mind."

Aang nodded and after he had put Appa in his rightful place, (that being in the garage) the few guests and the three hosts looked at each other expectantly.

Narada then suggested, "Let's go play some Mortal Kombat until the others arrive!"

They all agree and rush off to the basement.

"I call first dibs on Liu Kang!" Sokka beamed humorously.

"Whatever." Katara quipped, "We're still gonna beat you!"

Time passed and eventually Tallok's house became a bustling, lively area as random guests steadily began to arrive. Suki was the next Avatar character to arrive, followed by Zuko and Iroh, then Jet, Meng, Haru, Jun, Pakku, and lastly, Zula.

As Narada looked around at the guests she noticed someone missing, "Hey Aoina-How come you didn't invite Ozai?"

Aoina nearly spit out the punch she had been drinking, "And risk a big scene! Zuko and Iroh are fugitives in the next season, remember?"

Narada raised an eyebrow. "That didn't stop you from inviting Zula." She muttered.

Aoina laughed, "Now her I can handle!" She smiled mischeviously as she said this.

Meanwhile, at the snack table Zuko is testing a buffalo wing as he dips it in the hot sauce before tasting. He shrugged, "Huh, these are pretty good..." As he examined the buffalo wings more closely, Zula entered approaching him. "Hope you enjoyed the party Zuzu, because now you're under arrest!"

Aoina had wandered by and then glared at the fire nation princess, "Oh no you don't!" She said before whipping out a Zula voodoo doll. Aoina held it up threateningly.

Zula glared at her, "You wouldn.'t..."   Narada had arrived on the scene and was grinning as she folded her arms, "Oh yes she would!"

Without delaying any longer Aoina began to make the doll dance, which resulted in Zula dancing as well. Zula struggled, but to no avail against this strange force controlling her body. "What...Are...You...DOING!" She commanded.

As Zula continued to dance (against her will) Tallok slipped a 50 cent CD in and turns it to the song "In Da Club." Everyone except Zula began to sing at the same time, "Go Zula, it's your birthday, we're gonna party like it's your birthday. We gonna sip Bacadri like it's your birthday.."

As the song continued on the guests went back to enjoying themselves as Aoina continues to fiddle with the Zula doll.

"Grrrr! You two-bit peasants will pay for this!" Zula yelled out, implying a large threat on the 'two-bit peasants.'

Zuko laughed lightly before looking to the others, "Thanks guys, that was too close."

Narada smirked, "Honey you ain't seen nothin' yet!" She opened the back door where several Zuko fangirls are standing outside, and addressed them. "Hey ladies!"

Tallok took the cue and pointed to Zula, "She tried to have Zuko kicked out just now!"

One fangirl nearly fainted, while another screamed, "What!" One near the front then raised her sign, "Get her!" The fangirls charged and attacked Zula with disturbing ferocity. Zuko watched the fight his eyes wide, "Oh...my..."

Narada cut him off, "See? Nobody talks to you like that without these lovely ladies whoopin' them big time!"

Zuko's eye seemed to be twitching slightly, "How," he shuddered before continuing, "comforting."

Narada nodded and said blankly, "You have no idea."

Since the Zula threat seemed to of been taken care of, Aoina put the doll away and glanced around. "So, who's up for pizza?" She asked with a grin, obviously hungry.

Zuko shook his head, "You three go ahead. I hear the Avatar and that water tribe girl-"

Narada interrupted, "You mean Katara?"

Zuko nodded, "Yes, her. As I was saying, word is they're having a little Mortal Kombat contest in the basement, so I'm going to go and check it out."

Aoina laughed, "Good luck with that! I've seen those two in action, and they don't scare easily from fatalities."

Zuko said darkly, "We'll see about that." And left the kitchen headed for the basement.

Narada shrugged lightly, not taking notice of Zuko's strange words. "Anyways, let's go get that pizza!"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Narada: Well, there's the first chapter for ya! No mystery yet, but that's coming next chapter! Thanks for changing the format from script to sentence Aoina!

Aoina: Anytime!

Narada: Sorry it's a day late though.

Aoina: Ah don't worry about it.


	2. Act One: Blackout

About one hour into the party, Narada walked up to the snack table and began pouring herself a cup of punch. Halfway through, however, she nearly dropped the cup as the lights abruptly shut off. Loud murmuring came from the crowd, as she then heard Tallok's voice.

"Just a little blackout." He said, "Sorry about that."

Aoina, meanwhile, turned on her flashlight and approached Narada.

"Looks like the little Mortal Kombat tourney downstairs just got ugly. You won't believe all the noise down there!"

"Really?" Narada turned to where her voice came from. "I'll go check it out."

Without another word, she left for the basement entrance, surprised to see Iroh already at the door.

"You heard it too?" He asked. "Just rats, I suppose."

"Heard what?" Narada raised an eyebrow.

"There was a clanging noise coming from down there." Iroh responded. "Quite loud, in fact. Very hard to miss."

"Yeah yeah, hang on a sec, I have to check something out down there anyway." Narada explained.

Iroh politely stepped out of the way as Narada reached for the door. Narada took quick notice of the sparks coming from a now badly damaged fuse box.

"What the-?" She muttered to herself before turning to proceed downstairs, but she stopped abruptly. Her flashlight happened on someone.

"Good God."

This Iroh couldn't help but overhear. "What, what is it?" He asked before following Narada. But when the old general looked to the floor, he gasped at the sight.

"Zuko!"

Prince Zuko lay limp on the floor, a broken glass mere inches shy of his hand. Iroh rushed to his nephew's side, looking for any signs of life left in him.

"Zuko, no." Iroh bowed his head, a tear dripping to the floor.

"Hang on." Narada reached toward Zuko's wrist, placing her two index fingers just below his palm. "OK I got a pulse."

Iroh sighed in relief. Narada looked up to him.

"Go upstairs and get Tallok and Aoina. I'll stay here and keep an eye on Zuko."

Wordlessly, be it from shock or otherwise, Iroh nodded and ascended the stairwell.

Narada then turned back toward Zuko, holding onto his wrist consistently. But then a clanging noise resonated from the distance.

Her headed jolted in the direction of the noise, drawing back slightly, turning back only as Iroh returned with Tallok and Aoina. Aoina promptly came to Zuko's side.

"My god- this is sick!" She gasped.

"Stay here." Was all Narada told her before getting up and approaching the noise. She flipped on her keychain flashlight and looked around.

"Hello?" She called into the darkness that shrank back from the light. Soon after, another clatter echoed.

"Who's there?" She turned toward the boiler room, the door of which was slightly ajar. A ripping noise could be heard from there, muffled whimpers coming into play not long after. Narada cautiously approached the door and peeked inside.

There, a strange figure in a jade green mask loomed over another figure, whose features were obscured in the poor light. But taking a closer look, she managed to distinguish Katara as the latter figure, bound tightly in nylon rope, a single white towel tied over her mouth.

Narada tried to stay hidden, but the last straw came as the masked figure took a switchblade and began to cut open Katara's top. In blind fury, Narada swung open the door and aimed a kick at the guy.

Big mistake. He caught her leg and pushed her over. Narada screamed and rolled to the side as he tried to stab at her with- was that Sokka's boomerang?

"Narada?" Tallok looked up from his post. "Hang on." He told Iroh and Aoina before getting up, taking a small pipe and approaching the boiler room.

As he got there, Narada had just managed to knock over the masked man enough to pin him down, but then he rolled her onto her back, until they were each struggling to pin down the other. Tallok took the pipe and whacked once at the guy, knocking him onto his side. The assailant then got up slowly and shot his glance to Katara.

"You got lucky this time." Came a distorted voice from behind the mask, as the man threw something on the floor, which produced a smoke screen. As Tallok wafted the smoke away, it was too late. He was gone.

Narada froze, before turning back to Katara and pulling the towel down.

"Are you all right?" Tallok asked as Narada worked to undo the restraints.

"I'm fine." Katara winced lightly, rubbing the rope burns on her wrists. "I heard Aang screaming, so I came to investigate and then-." She paused, trying to cover her half-bare chest.

"I see." Tallok nodded, helping Katara up. "But, just where is Aang now?"

"I don't know." There was a slight quiver in Katara's voice as she said this, as though she feared the worst.

"Narada! Tallok!" Aoina called to them from the other room. "You might want to see this."

"What is it?" Katara got up and walked to the other room, Tallok and Narada not too far off.

As they arrived, Aoina approached Narada. "Here." She handed Narada a piece of paper. "We found this wedged in the back door."

Narada scanned through the paper, her eyes widening upon finishing.

"What? What's going on?" Katara asked, not liking her reaction to the note one bit.

Narada hesitated, clearing her throat before she read aloud:

"We have the Avatar.

Release the Freedom Fighters or else.

Signed,

The Green Spirit."

"Aang!" Katara gasped, her eyes steadily welling with tears.

Tallok sighed. "It's going to be a **long** night."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Narada: There you have it folks, Chapter 2!

Tallok: Oh before we forget, none of us owns Avatar, 50 Cent's In Da Club, Mortal Kombat, or anything else mentioned here except the plot.

Aoina: Thanks for stating the obvious Tallok! Anyway, rate and review **please!**


	3. Act Two: Birth of MIA

Before long, the entire mood of the party changed, and what was once alive with the festivities was now hushed and fearful. Not a single eye wasn't looking to the driveway as Prince Zuko was hoisted into the ambulance.

"Some party this turned out to be, huh?" The backwards-hat delivery guy approached Sokka.

"Hey do you mind?" Sokka snapped. "Aang's been kidnapped, and my sister was attacked! I'm not exactly enjoying myself over here!"

"Erm, you left out that Zuko was found collapsed on the floor." Aoina readily pointed out.

"Well yeah, but come on!" Sokka huffed, "That guy's survived being slammed against solid rock, for heaven's sakes! He can handle a little fall."

"Anyway…" He sighed. "I just wanted to make sure that- oof!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Azula brushed past him and was on her way to the exit. He promptly gripped her arm.

"What the-!" Azula shrieked, yanking back her arm.

"Sorry Azula, but no one's leaving this house until this matter is resolved." The delivery guy looked very stern now.

"I go where I wish!" Azula protested, "And you're in no position to stop me, peon!"

"That's "officer" to you, Princess." His partner approached soon after.

Sokka and Aoina were instantly taken aback. "Officer?"

"That's correct." They each took a wallet-looking object from their respective pockets and opened them, revealing police badges. The backwards-hatted guy spoke again, pointing to himself, then his partner. "Darrin Brown and Marcus Jones, NYPD."

Sokka was still dumbstruck. Aoina shook it off.

"Now I **know** I'm missing something! What is going on here?"

"Suffice to say the department has a few Avatar fans, and wanted some security given the occasion of your party." Darrin explained.

"Uhh, OK." Aoina stuttered.

"And you decided to tell us now because…" Azula asked, likely uninterested either way.

"Because of this." Marcus replied, "So as of now, the basement is closed off as a crime scene, and none of you may leave this house until this matter is resolved."

"What?" Sokka and Azula both shrieked.

"Sorry, but you're all serious flight risks now." Marcus apologized. "But rest assured, we're not sitting on our hands around here."

"How comforting." Azula hissed sarcastically as she nonchalantly walked toward the living room.

Darrin and Marcus then left for the basement, as Narada approached the scene. Aoina was quick to notice her.

"Where's Tallok?" Aoina asked.

Narada shrugged. "Snooping through the police reports, if you can believe it. He seriously think he's gonna crack this case before the police do!"

"After this long? Even he would've given up by now. Why would he still be at it at this point?"

It was then that the girls noticed the faint sound of crying amid the murmurs. They waded past the crowd and saw Tallok, standing between two rows of weeping girls.

"Uh Tallok?" Aoina raised an eyebrow. "What's going on here?"

"Kyoshi's Aang Fanclub on the left, Zuko fangirls on the right." Tallok explained nonchalantly. "This whole deal left them pretty upset. Even the Kataang and Zutara fans have called a truce just to help solve this case!"

"You're saying they won't let the cops do their job either?" Narada placed a hand on her hip.

"What job?" A Zuko fangirl cried out. "Zuko was hurt, and while these people are doing who knows what, these sickos could go after him again!"

"And just imagine what Aang must be going through with that mean old Green Spirit!" Meng sobbed out the words in a rather childish fashion before wailing, **"We want our Aangy back!"** And crying her eyes out. There wasn't a Kyoshi fangirl in the room who didn't join in.

Aoina raised an eyebrow. "O…kay. Well we hate police incompetence as much as anyone else but, it's in their hands now, so what do you expect?"

"Why not you guys?" Meng sobbed, but then stopped crying and looked up at the trio, a knowing twinkle in her eye. Both the Kyoshi fangirls and the Zuko fangirls then mimicked her gaze.

"What?" Narada raised an eyebrow, surprised. "You're not actually serious about this, are you?"

"Why not?" Tallok mused. "Between your smarts, my Boondocks style, and Aoina's sharp eye for clues, we could totally pull it off!"

"We'd still need a team name." Aoina remarked.

At this the three fell silent. That was the one detail they had all neglected.

"How about MIA?" Meng beamed.

"Missing In Action?" The trio gave her quizzical looks.

"Why would we put that?" Aoina followed up.

"Because that's exactly what the police is right now." A Zuko fangirl concurred. "With all the progress **they're** making, they may as well be Missing In Action!"

"I like it. It has a nice James Bond flair to it. So what do you say Narada?" Aoina looked to her, followed by Tallok.

"I don't know..." Narada dragged out the word 'know'.

"MIA…MIA…MIA…" The two fan groups began to chant in unison.

Narada glanced toward her two friends. They were really set on this, she thought, and clearly aware of the risks involved. She then watched the chanting fangirls, Zuko and Aang fangirls alike. Thoughts rushed about her mind.

Zuko could have been killed had she and Iroh not found him in time. Clearly the Zuko fangirls didn't want that happening again.

And Aang's fate lay in the hands of the mysterious Green Spirit. Would he really harm Aang if the demands weren't met? Could these girls really take such a loss?

One could hear a pin drop as Narada spoke her response.

"Let's do it."

Those three words set off an uproar of cheers not only from the fangirls, but from the entire crowd. The trio high-fived each other, and Aoina nodded sharply toward her friend.

"So," She shifted her gaze from Narada to Tallok and back again. "Where do we start?"

----------------------------------------------

Narada: Woohoo Chapter 3 is finally done!

Aoina: Coming up next, MIA starts investigating, and a strange new development.

Tallok: We can't wait!

Aoina: Oh I almost forgot! R&R Please!


	4. Act Three: Detective Work

Tallok: Sup y'all! OK now we got good news and bad news.

Narada: The good news is Chapter 4 is finally up, and I finished my spring term at college so I can spend much more time updating all my hiatus stories.

Tallok: The bad news is we **still** don't own Avatar TLA or any related franchise.

Aoina: Hey! That's my line!

Tallok: Sorry Aoina. You snooze you lose.

Aoina: Whatever. Oh, and some implied Yuri will apply in one sentence of this chapter. Just so you know.

----------------------------------

As the police were scrounging about the house, the trio slipped into the kitchen, where it was much less crowded. Aoina sighed in relief as they sat down, and she lay out her notepad, pencil at the ready.

"OK now let's get our facts straight." She stated, "Even **I'm** not so sure what we're dealing with."

"Well first off," Narada shrugged, dumbstruck, "who are our suspects?"

"I'm thinking Azula." Aoina was the first to respond. "She has both the nerve to harm Zuko in the first place, and the smarts to poison him like this."

"No way." Tallok was quick to disagree. "Don't forget, Zuko wasn't the only one attacked. There was also Katara, remember?"

"So?" Aoina shrugged.

Tallok sighed. "**So**, given the exact way that Green Spirit person attacked Katara, I'd say our perp's either a boy or a lezbo."

"He's right." Narada added, "I saw some of it as it was happening. It looked like this Green Spirit guy was about to…you know." She held back the word "rape" out of delicacy. "And it **did** sound like Jet had a crush on Katara in Episode 10, even if he did use her for that flood."

"Exactly!" Tallok said triumphantly, "Not to mention Zuko's from the Fire Nation, and the ransom for Aang was to spring the Freedom Fighters from juvie. Am I the only one who sees a pattern here?"

"Well actually…" Aoina furrowed her eyebrows, "It still doesn't fit, you know? Jet's way too impulsive to pull this thing off. Beat Zuko to a bloody pulp maybe, but poison him? This was too well-planned."

Narada sighed heavily, standing up. "So those are our only suspects so far?"

"Looks like it." Aoina stood as well. "Maybe the police file has more on the case. Too bad **that's** off limits!" She hissed out the last sentence resentfully.

"Maybe we should split up." Narada proposed. "Tallok, find Katara and see if she remembers anything specific about the attack. Aoina, see if you can get ahold of that file. I'll hitch Appa and go for the hospital."

"Why the hospital?" Tallok queried.

"Nothing yet, but I may have an idea about the assault on Zuko. It's a long shot, but that's a chance I'll have to take." Narada explained. "Now let's go."

With that, the three teens parted for different directions.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Appa? Hello?" Narada entered the dark of the garage cautiously. The flying bison grunted softly as he roused from his sleep, having no real reaction as Narada opened the garage door. But that quickly changed once she grabbed for his rein.

"Yaagh!" Narada was bowled over as Appa bellowed rebelliously toward her. The thunderous noise, not surprisingly, spanned the entire house. Sokka quickly rushed toward the garage and happened on the angry bison.

"Appa!" He stood between Appa and Narada. "Appa, settle down! It's OK."

As Appa calmed down somewhat, Narada brushed back a few stray ebony locks and pushed herself up. Sokka then turned toward her.

"What was that all about?"

"It's a long story." Narada shook it off. "But let's just say that if my instincts are right, we have to get to the hospital **now**."

"On Appa?" Sarcasm tinted Sokka's voice.

"Unless I get my driver's license in the next 30 seconds, yes." Narada utilized her infamous counter-sarcasm.

"Alright, I can take a hint. Now get on." Sokka inched to the side, letting Narada climb on Appa before getting on himself.

"Yip yip." Sokka pulled back the reins. At once Appa walked out the garage door and took to the sky.

-----------------------------

Aoina squeezed through the crowd toward the basement door. Sure enough, Darrin and Marcus stood at the front, allowing police in, but nobody else. Sighing heavily, she walked out of the way and was heading back to the kitchen. Iroh was already there, taking a few sips from his teacup before taking notice of Aoina.

"Ah, here you are!" He said, somewhat cheerfully. "How goes the detective work?"

"Not so good." Aoina sighed, taking a seat across from the old general. "The police file has all the good stuff about the case, and with all the cops around the basement, so much as **looking** at that file is beyond me."

"You too, huh?" Iroh soon turned more serious. "Not like they're doing much with that information anyway. Perhaps you could slip in, get the file, and get out of there."

"I wish." Sarcasm laced Aoina's voice as she said this. "At this rate, I'd need a serious distraction for the cops."

"Leave that to me." Iroh's smile returned, much more mischievous this time as he procured a tiny meadow vole.

Aoina snickered. "That's your distraction? A mouse?"

"No, not entirely." Iroh also took out a small length of scaly skin and, whittling the shape of a snake, he tucked the meadow vole into the head of the makeshift serpent.

"Run along now." He whispered to the little meadow vole as he set it down.

"**Snake!"** As the little mouse scurried toward the living room, Iroh sprung up from his chair and pointed at it. "Snake!" He called again as shrieks echoed from the crowd. Once the police heard him and sprinted in the direction of the "snake", Iroh turned around and gave Aoina a thumbs-up.

"Thanks Iroh, you rock." Aoina nodded sharply and ran for the basement. During the snake-fearing frenzy, the young blonde managed to grab the file, climb back up the steps, and run for Tallok's mother's office before anyone noticed she had gone anywhere.

"Whew, mission accomplished." Aoina sat down with the file in the office, but then spotted one of the drawers, wide open.

"What the…?" She looked into the open drawer briefly, but thought nothing of it as she flipped open the case file and began reading through its contents.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"So, you're sure you can't recall anything else?"

Tallok took a sip of his Sprite as Katara leaned back in her chair.

"Not really…" Katara half-whined. But then her blue eyes lit up. "Wait a minute. I remember these burn marks on his wrists. I didn't really think about it then but…" She trailed off.

"I gotcha." Tallok nodded, taking notes. No sooner was he done than the phone rang. He sprung up and turned on the speakerphone. "Hello?"

"Hello?" The weak, cracking voice on the other end echoed.

"Aang!" Katara practically jumped out of her seat on hearing her friend on the other line. "Aang, are you all right?" She called into the speakerphone.

"I…I think so." Aang quivered. "It's so cold in here I can't really- AAH!" That last scream from Aang was followed by various clanging noises, at which point Tallok was listening particularly closely, for some reason. But when the cacophony of struggle had ended, it wasn't Aang on the phone.

"Let me get this straight." The Green Spirit's impatient voice hissed on the other line. "It's been 6 hours since I left you my instructions, and you didn't even lift a finger to get what I asked for?"

"We're trying." Katara was trying to retain her composure. "But it's complicated."

"I don't want your little sob story!" He snapped. "But I **do** want the Freedom Fighters out of juvie in 3 days time. I **do** want them ready to meet me at a particular location, which I will tell you later. Give me any less than what I **do** want, and the last you'll see of the Avatar will be at the morgue!" With that, he hung up.

"This is bad." Tallok stated the obvious. "We have to find the others. Where's Sokka anyway?"

"He went to check this commotion in the garage." Katara shrugged. "I haven't seen him since."

"Well Narada left for the hospital on Appa, so he probably went with her." Tallok explained. "That just leaves Aoina. Come on."

He and Katara were about to exit the room when…

"Tallok!" Aoina ran hurriedly to the door of the kitchen. "Tallok you're not going to believe this." She jumped up and down in excitement

"Whoa whoa whoa Aoina, settle down!" Tallok called to his friend as her jumping ceased. "Now what is it?"

"Remember the poison thing with Zuko? I take it **way** back!" She explained.

"What?" Tallok couldn't believe it. "Why?"

"I was just looking through the police file. It says there were no lip prints on the glass we found." Aoina steadily calmed herself. "Whatever was in that glass, Zuko didn't take a drop of it."

Now Tallok was confused. "What? But Zuko was going on unconscious when Narada found him, you saw! If a poisoned drink didn't do Zuko in then what did?"

Amidst the confusion, Aoina's cell phone rang.

"One sec." She told Tallok before picking up. "Yeah?"

"Good you're there." Narada's voice said on the other line. "Listen I talked the doctor into running some tests on Zuko, and you won't believe what they found. Can y'all meet Sokka and me at the hospital in a few minutes?"

"We're on it Narada. Stay put, we'll be right there." Aoina said before hanging up.

Katara was the first to react. "What'd she say?"

"Sounds like she's onto something." Aoina got her denim jacket. "We have to meet her at the hospital ASAP."

----------------------------------

Narada: Whew! Finally Chapter 4 is up.

Tallok: Coming up next, Narada tells the group of her newfound clue, and the Green Spirit strikes again!

Aoina: But like we said, we don't own Avatar TLA or any of that freaky little stuff. So get off our backs because we're not making money off this!

Tallok: Well put darling, well put.


	5. Act Four: Death Threat

**-Later, Mount Sinai Hospital-**

"Hi." Aoina approached the front desk at the ER. "By any chance, was a teenage boy with a burn scar on his eye admitted here?"

The nurse laughed lightly, brushing back a fiery red strand of hair. "No need to go soft with me honey. We all know about Zuko in here."

"Oh, well duh." Aoina gripped her forehead in embarrassment.

"Seriously, everyone's been talking about it ever since he was wheeled in." The nurse quipped, then leaned closer to whisper to her. "We've had to keep it all hush-hush from the fan girls."

"Well as much as I enjoy hearing about Zuko's newfound popularity in the ER…" Aoina said, "We **really** have to find his room."

"Oh, of course." The nurse pulled herself together, pointing toward the elevator. "He's on the 4th floor, room 169."

"Thanks." Aoina smiled to the nurse before turning back to her retinue. Tallok had long since made himself comfortable on the waiting room chair, whilst Katara was hardly as relaxed. "Let's go guys. We're clear."

It was only about 15 seconds afterward that they got off the elevator onto the 4th floor, and made their way to room 169. Inside, Zuko was lying on the hospital bed, Narada and Sokka watching as a doctor proceeded to stick a thin, clear tube up his nose. From this tube, a nurse proceeded to rhythmically squeeze on the pump attached to it.

"Gross!" Aoina reacted. "What are they doing to him?" She asked Narada.

"It's artificial respiration: supposed to help with breathing." Narada responded.

"I thought they had other ways for that kind of stuff." Katara was next. "Why use this one?"

"Because it's **that** bad." Sokka said, clearly just as grossed-out as Aoina was.

"That's why I called you." Narada began again. "Turns out the poison-."

"No need to explain." Aoina cut her off. "We saw the file. Zuko was never poisoned, right?"

"Actually, he was: just not from the glass." Narada held out a chart. "Zuko tested positive for succinylcholine."

Wide, blank stares from the others prompted her to continue.

"You see, succinylcholine is a skeletal muscle relaxant used in surgery, but it has these nasty side effects. These include paralysis, hyperthermia, and even stopped breathing."

"That's awful!" Katara gasped.

"It gets worse." Narada sighed. "The stuff is easily found on the public market as this drug called Anectine. **Anyone** at the party could've gotten their hands on some. And it's injected, not taken orally, so the drug can't have wound up in that glass."

With Aoina and company still trying to take that in, Sokka shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Even **I** still don't know what she's talking about."

"So what's all this supposed to mean?" Tallok asked.

"Well succinylcholine isn't really very advertised. I've only heard about it on _The New Detectives_ myself. So whoever we're dealing with here, chances are they really know their medicine."

"Or they learned real fast." Aoina couldn't help but bring it up, looking to Tallok. "Your mom works in the ER right?"

"Yeah. Why?" Tallok shrugged.

"When I went for the police file, I took it with me to the study." She explained. "But when I got there, one of the drawers was open. Maybe someone slipped in and took one of your mom's files, and probably even one talking more about this suck…sucky…"

"Succinylcholine." Narada finished for her.

"Whatever." Aoina huffed.

"Anyway," Narada spoke again. "Right now the doctors are doing all that can be done for Zuko until his system breaks the stuff down. So for now, let's get back to work. Any ideas?"

"Well I may have a few ideas about where the Green Spirit's holding Aang, so I'll get right on that." Tallok mused.

"We'll go with you." Katara approached, as did Aoina who apparently agreed.

"Not me." Narada pointed to Sokka, who was now a snoring mass on one of the chairs. "Someone has to keep an eye on old sleepyhead. But if all goes well I'll probably join you in a bit."

"Eh, OK." Tallok held in a laugh on seeing Sokka, before leaving with Katara and Aoina.

----------------------------------------------

"Huh, about time you got up."

Sokka was quick to notice as Narada finally stirred in the chair. She must have dozed off waiting for **Sokka** to wake up. He apparently beat her to it, though, as he was now wide awake, a soda can in his hand as he sat next to the bed. Zuko had long since been switched to an oxygen mask, air still pumping to him via a machine.

"Urgh…" Narada groaned, standing up. "What time is it?"

"It's probably around 11 right now." Sokka said uncertainly.

"11? We've been here 2 hours?" Narada was half-shocked at this. "We better go then. Visiting hours were over an hour ago."

She reached for her jacket and was about to put it on when there was a small clacking noise behind the door. Sokka crept his way toward the door, as Narada backed up slightly.

But she was nowhere near ready when the door opened, or when the new visitor's punch knocked Sokka back a few inches. Still, she thought rather quickly in grabbing for the scalpel and standing before the Green Spirit once again.

"Back for a rematch huh?"

"Just came to finish what I started!" He boomed, aiming a kick toward Narada, missing by an inch as she swerved to the side. "Except this time I brought a friend."

Up to that point, Narada had not taken notice of the other, Scream-masked figure approaching Zuko; more specifically, approaching the pump-machine that provided him with breath. But that soon changed when Narada kicked Scream out of the way, pointing the scalpel directly at their chest.

In turn, the Green Spirit kicked the scalpel out of her hand and helped Scream up. Narada also stood, readying herself for an attack.

But they didn't attack. Instead, Scream opened the window and jumped out of it, landing quite gracefully on the roof below before disappearing in the night. The Green Spirit, meanwhile, gripped Narada's hand.

"You see I didn't come for a rematch; more like a warning. I know about how you and your friends are trying to unmask me. Well don't! For every time you ignore this warning, I'll stop by the house again. But by the time you realize it…I'll have already found my next victim."

With that warning, and that warning alone, he let go of her hand and followed his partner out the window. Narada watched in utter silence as he did this, running to Sokka's side as she flipped open here cellphone.

"Aoina? We need to talk, now."

--------------------------------------------

Narada: Wooo creepy.

Sokka: And painful! Ow I still have a bruise from that punch!

Narada: O…Kay. Anyways, that's it for Chapter 5!

Aoina: Coming up next, more clues start coming to the surface, but the Green Spirit makes good on his threat.

Tallok: Here's hoping y'all have the stomach for it.

Narada: By the way, I did **not** make up that whole bit on succinylcholine. It is a real-life drug, and has been used once for an actual homicide. Just so you know.


	6. Act Five: Phantom of the Backstage

"But how'd he figure out about us so quick?"

Tallok paced about his room, where Aoina and Narada had already settled into the beanie bag chairs.

"Who cares about that right now? The point is that's what he said." Narada sighed heavily. "I **knew** forming MIA would cause trouble!"

Aoina sulked. "Guess we'll have to tell the fan girls huh."

"Sokka's telling them as we speak." Narada responded. "It's funny though. I figured by now they'd have gone hysterical."

Talk about timing. No sooner had Narada said the word "hysterical" than the door swung open. There, Meng and Koko quickly rushed inside.

"**Why?"** Koko collapsed, gripping tightly on Narada's ankles, sobbing heavily. "Why'd you have to quit already? We need you!"

Narada was instantly taken aback, but barely managed to get out an answer.

"Look Koko I'm not exactly happy about this, but this guy threatened to hit here again if we keep going." She sighed. "As much as I'd hate to admit it, this is gonna have to be the end of MIA."

"No it doesn't!" Meng sobbed as well, but with slightly more anger than Koko. "That Green Spirit's just a coward, hiding behind Aangy like that! He doesn't have the guts to hurt any of us!"

"Well yeah, but I have to agree with Narada on that one." Aoina surrendered. "That's just a chance we can't afford to take."

"Hmm, unless…" Tallok mused to himself.

"Unless?" Meng and Koko chimed together, their sobs paused for a moment.

"Unless we managed to keep a solid lid on security." He stood. "This place is crawling with police, and even benders and fighters from all over the Avatar world! Not to mention King Bumi's on the way with reinforcements, and Azula has Mei and Ty Lee coming over tomorrow morning. Let's face it; the Green Spirit's not taking any of us without a fight!"

"Well," Narada shrugged. "I guess that settles it then." She turned to the two girls. "That disbanding story? It never happened."

Meng and Koko squealed with joy and hugged, tears still falling by the dozen. Tallok and Aoina both looked to Narada, who shrugged.

"What? What'd I say?"

---------------------------------

That night left almost as quickly as it came. Sokka would wake to the sound of a single word:

"Breakfast!"

Narada had long since set down the plates on the dining room table. How Aoina managed to make so many pancakes in less than an hour, she would never know. The house arrest Officer Brown had imposed meant working harder to keep these people happy, supposed Narada. Whatever the case, breakfast was served, and the guests turned up in short order to gulp it down.

Among the last to show was Tallok, who set down a tape recorder next to his plate before he began eating. Narada wasn't sure what to take notice of first: the tape recorder, or the way Tallok kept eyeing it as he ate- quite quickly at that. He finished in under 2 minutes, then took the tape recorder and went to Narada.

"Take your plate to my room." He said urgently. "There's something we have to talk about."

"Um…OK." Narada nodded, picking up her plate and following Tallok to his room. There, Tallok held up the tape recorder, his thumb resting on the Play button.

"Check this out." He pushed the button, letting the tape play.

"I don't want your little sob story! But I **do** want the Freedom Fighters out of juvie in 3 days time. I **do** want them ready to meet me at a particular location, which I will tell you later." The Green Spirit's voice echoed from the tape. "Give me any less than what I **do** want, and the last you'll see of the Avatar will be at the morgue!"

Narada cringed at this, but then refocused her gaze to Tallok. "It's that last ransom call we got from him. Big deal."

"I admit, the call itself is no big deal." Tallok turned to his computer. "But check out what happens if I isolate the ransom message." He clicked a few buttons in turn, before finally clicking PLAY.

…_Angel of Music…_

Narada raised an eyebrow. "Wait a second. Can you play that again?"

"Yeah sure." Tallok rewinded the file, and played it again.

…_Angel of Music…_

These words instantly clicked in Narada's mind. "Angel of Music? That's a Phantom of the Opera song, isn't it?"

"Well yeah. So now we have to check any listings in the local theaters for Phantom of the Opera and-"

"We may not have to go through all that trouble." Narada interrupted. "They have it at this local playhouse over on Union Street. It's a long shot, but the backstage area is said to have all these secret passageways so it's worth a look-see."

"Trust me Narada." Tallok sighed. "After last night, I'd believe just about anything. But wait, the backstage? How do we get back there?"

"Not a problem." Narada replied. "My sister Tiffany plays Christine. I can just ask her to hook us up."

"Great!" Tallok nodded. "I'll get Aoina, Sokka, and Katara and then we can go."

----------------------------------------------

"Did we have to make that stop back at the gift shop!"

Sokka followed Katara and MIA down a long, picture-ridden hallway, Narada leading the group toward a plain brown door at the end of this hallway.

"Aww lighten up Sokka." Aoina pulled out her chain, revealing a small Leo charm. "This goes great with my tube top."

"Yeah, and the fact is we didn't spend too long in there." Narada was tucking her Cancer charm under her jacket. "But enough about that. We came here to look for Aang, not read each other's horoscopes!"

"Agreed." Katara nodded. "So where do we go first?"

"I say we split up." Tallok proceeded to hand each of them a walkie-talkie. "The girls'll fan out and talk with each of the actors, see if they heard anything unusual. Sokka, you and I will run by the blueprints of this place and check out any hidden doors. If anyone finds anything, page the others. Simple as that."

"Just like a Taurus to take command." Aoina commented.

"Knock it off Aoina." Tallok glanced once at her. "It's like Aang said in The Great Divide; 'Words won't solve problems. Action will.'"

"**Harsh** words, Tallok." Aoina placed a hand on her hip. "Never mind. Let's go."

At last they split up.

----------------------------

Tallok and Sokka entered the backstage, Sokka immediately looking around for anything unusual. Regardless, Tallok was the first to happen on a single painting of a young woman in a white robe, sitting by a clear blue river holding an open white parasol above her.

"Hey Sokka, check it out." He lightly pulled back the painting, revealing an old-fashioned handle hollowed into the wall behind the painting. That being done, Tallok pulled the handle, a trapdoorlike opening springing open in the opposite end of the wall.

"Lucky guess." Sokka shrugged, approaching the opening. "OK let's go."

"Better not." Tallok blocked him. "We can cover more ground if we split up. Just page if you need me."

"Oh, of course." Sokka turned to leave as Tallok climbed into the opening, closing the door behind him.

**-Later, Backstage Area-**

"**Uurgh!"**

Sokka panted heavily, tugging on the rope a few times more. The fairly large crate attached to the hook rose a few more inches above the wooden floors with each pull, before finally reaching a reasonable distance from the floor. Tying the rope to the railing next to him, Sokka sighed in relief, cracking his shoulders back into place.

"OK, let's try this again."

He approached the spot that the crate once occupied, pulling open the trapdoor there and descending inside, being sure to close the door behind him before descending further.

Within the seeming basement of the theater were all sorts of costumes and movie posters, but nothing out of the ordinary so far, save a series of soft thuds from the back wall.

"H-hello?" Sokka called softly, cautiously approaching the back wall. Pulling the tarp aside, he happened on a small door. But only after he opened the door did the real surprise come into play.

----------------------------------

"So, how much did you guys get?" Narada asked.

"Nothing." Aoina said in disappointment.

"Your sister was pretty helpful, I suppose." Katara shrugged. "Apparently a blade came up from below the stage last night during rehearsal and almost cut through her costume. No one here seems to know what kind of blade it was though."

"A blade?" Aoina raised an eyebrow. "Well, at least we know our guy deals with swords."

"Or maybe he's just a Blue Spirit wannabe." Narada shrugged. "Who's to say it wasn't a broadsword?"

No sooner was Aoina about to respond than Sokka's voice boomed from Narada's walkie-talkie.

"Tallok? Tallok are you there?"

Narada raised an eyebrow briefly before picking up.

"It's not Tallok, it's Narada." Narada responded. "What is it?"

"It's Aang." Sokka said into the walkie-talkie. "We're at the basement, so-"

Of all moments, that was the one where the connection was lost.

"Sokka?" Narada called frantically into the walkie-talkie. "Are you still there? **Sokka!**"

Aoina shuddered. "Not good. **Definitely** not good."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Aang uttered a muffled scream as the Green Spirit grasped Sokka in a chokehold, taking out a walkie-talkie of his own in his other hand.

"So, thought you could sneak up on me huh? Can't say I didn't warn those nosy little do-gooders."

He then turned on the walkie-talkie, a familiar, but panicked voice echoing from the other end.

"Let…go of me!" The voice echoed consistently in Sokka's mind, as did the scream that came after it, before the walkie-talkie was turned off.

"Suki! No!" Sokka gritted his teeth as he struggled against the Green Spirit with renewed vigor, before the walkie-talkie dropped and the masked assailant began to whisper in his ear.

"Don't worry, you'll get to see her again…" The Green Spirit hissed, "Once you wake up, that is." With that, he took his free hand and shoved his two index fingers against a pressure point in Sokka's neck, effectively knocking him out.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Narada: Whew! Sorry about the delay on Act Five!

Tallok: Well at least it's out now.

Aoina: Coming up next, Zuko finally comes to, and a surprising twist comes into play!

Tallok: And, as y'all know, we don't own Phantom of the Opera. Or any of the stuff featured here for that matter.

Narada: Except our zodiac charms!

Tallok: Yes, except those.


	7. Act Six: Shadows Abound

**-Elsewhere-**

Tallok waded through the secret passage, looking around at some old graffiti when something rustled against the dust of the floor. Looking down to what it was, his eyes widened and he flipped open the walkie-talkie.

"Guys? You may wanna see this."

------------------------------------------------------

As the others appeared in the secret passage, Tallok was about to unveil his newfound evidence, but after a quick head count he stopped.

"Wait a second. Where's Sokka?"

"We were gonna ask you the same thing." Aoina shrugged. "We got a call from him not too long ago, but then we lost contact."

"What?" Tallok freaked. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? We have to go."

"Then what **were** you trying to show us?" Narada asked.

"It can wait." He said simply.

Narada sighed somewhat. "All right then, let's go."

**-Basement-**

Katara and MIA descended through the trapdoor, to the world of old movie posters and costumes below. Whilst MIA searched about the room, Katara was steadily approaching toward the door in the distance.

It was only halfway through that the clatter echoed throughout the floor. Readily looking down, she gasped as she picked up the object.

"Sokka's boomerang." She cradled the boomerang sadly. "This must've been where he lost contact."

"No sign of him or Aang though." Aoina sighed resentfully. "GS probably cleared out before we got here."

"Just great." Narada plopped herself onto one of the chairs. "We finally get a lead, and not only does it dry up, but now we have one more hostage to deal with!"

"Maybe not." Tallok commented. "Check this out."

He pointed to the blade end of the boomerang, on which two letters were scrawled out in black ink.

Narada raised an eyebrow. "EK? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well it has to mean **something**." Katara shrugged. "This is Sokka's prize boomerang. He'd **never** write on it for no reason."

"Okay then." Narada sighed, clearly upset over the recent events. "Anyway, what was it you wanted to show us?"

"Well it's more of an instinct than anything else, so better not get worked up over it yet." Tallok told her, before focusing to the other two girls. "When we get back home, I'll tell you all about it."

"You'll have to tell me over the phone." Aoina stated right away. "I promised Iroh I'd go with him to visit Zuko at the hospital. Poor guy needs all the moral support he can get right now."

"I gotcha." Tallok smiled warmly, nodding, and then turning back to Narada. "Guess it's just you and me then."

**-Meanwhile-**

"…Uugh…huh?"

Sokka drowsily looked about his newfound predicament, which, judging from his surroundings, was quite bleak. The floors here were bare metal, the cold of it stinging the exposed skin of his arms. There was only one source of light in this entire room, and that was the small barred window in the door allowing in light from the bare bulb outside. A small, brief shot of pain throbbed the back of his neck, proving his encounter with the Green Spirit was very real. But worst of all, neither Aang nor Suki were anywhere in sight.

Forcing himself up, he reached toward the window and peered through. Not that there was all too much to look at. Outside, rusty pipes gave the odd drip every now and then, turning the cement floors a sickly brown. The floor plan itself was nothing to look at, at least from here; it was just a single hallway that turned to the left. The Green Spirit himself sat on a chair by the door in a droopy, snoozing heap. There was no knob on Sokka's side of the door, so trying to get it open would be pointless.

In other words, this was a nightmare in the making. Sokka threw his back against the wall, letting himself sink to the floor, only to perk back up when…

"_Psst…Sokka? Are you here?"_

The voice was familiar, but Sokka had to see it to believe it. He stood, albeit shakily, and rushed to the door, looking to the voice's source.

"Suki!" He beamed excitedly. But then he recalled ol' GS asleep on the chair, and quieted down. "But…how did you get out?"

"It was easier than I thought actually." Suki shrugged. "No time to dwell on the details though, we got work to do." She said, before lightly reaching above GS' head, gripping the keys, and reaching back to the lock. Twisting the first key into the lock, it almost instantly snapped open.

"That's amazing!" Sokka strained to hush his voice at that point. "You got it right on the first key!"

"Just lucky I guess." Suki shrugged lightly, a slight smile marking her features before she followed Sokka down the hall.

**-Zuko's Room, Mount Sinai Hospital-**

Aoina had considerably less trouble finding Zuko's room this time; she'd recognize that tune on the Sungi horn anywhere. Opening the door, she walked inside, glancing toward Iroh. "Any progress?" She asked, before setting herself down in a chair next to him.

"Not really." Iroh bowed his head. "It's so hard to believe. All this time, I've thought of Prince Zuko as a driven, capable young man. But now that one night has left him so helpless, so vulnerable…and that scares me."

"I can only imagine." Aoina sighed. "Especially after Ozai-…" Aoina paused out of delicacy. "Well, you get the idea."

Iroh nodded, eyes shutting. "I know. First Lu Ten died, then my family and nation turned on me, now this. And if…if Zuko doesn't make it through this, I don't know what I'd do." He paused for only a second after that, before resuming in a whimper. "He's all I have left." With those words alone, he cupped his eyes in his hands and started crying.

Aoina could only watch, before finally standing. "Looks like you need some time alone. Can I pick you up something at the cafeteria?"

"I'm fine, thank you." Iroh shook his head, calming somewhat. "Take your time."

"…OK." Aoina shrugged to herself before walking out the door, closing it behind her.

----------------------------------------------------------

Darkness shrouded his entire vision. The intense heat about his body was torture, even for a firebender, and the equally intense pain only made it worse. But what really stuck in his mind was that breathing, the simplest task for a person –or any living creature, for that matter- to accomplish, was nearly impossible for him at the moment.

Winter, Spring 

_Summer and Fall_

_Winter, Spring_

_Summer and Fall…_

Zuko immediately recognized the voice, faint as it was. So he wasn't as surprised when Iroh clasped his limp hand, and was now singing gently to him from the bedside.

…_Four seasons_

_Four loves_

_Four seasons_

_For love._

It took every ounce of will Zuko had to close his hand around his uncle's. That one feeble movement was enough to arouse Iroh's attention.

"Zuko?" The old general was in doubt, almost drawing back his hand. But only one moment later did it finally sink in.

"Zuko!" Tears fell by the dozen from Iroh's eyes, but these were clearly tears of joy, as his grip tightened somewhat.

For Zuko, the feeling was mutual, and for a minute the pain seemed lighter. Eventually, however, reality hit him once more. "Uncle…" He groaned weakly. "It hurts…everything is blurred."

"Just rest, Prince Zuko." Iroh reassured, smiling lightly. "You're back. And that's all that matters right now."

At that point, for the first time since the North Pole, Zuko's pained body allowed itself some rest, his hold on Iroh's hand relaxing a little bit.

Nonetheless, he took quick notice as his uncle's hand suddenly tore away. A surprised cry from Iroh proved in that instant that something was wrong. And yet Zuko lay helplessly on the bed, his limbs refusing to move.

Listening to the ensuing fight was unbearable, although the struggle that, in Zuko's mind, lasted hours, took only one minute before silence fell. It was here of all times that his eyesight started clearing up, only to see the old general unconscious on the floor. And who should be dragging him out by the collar, but the Green Spirit himself. His eyes shot wide.

"…You…"

"So the Fire Nation pig survived eh?" The masked intruder responded, before procuring a kitchen knife. "Do me a favor, you worm. **Stay** dead this time."

With that, he sliced the knife clear through the oxygen tube. As the emergency alarm sounded, GS tossed the knife at the window to shatter it, before taking Iroh and jumping out, leaving Zuko alone in the battle-scarred room, gasping for air.

But Zuko's true agony was in what had happened just now. All his life he'd seen more than his share of failures, but this was the worst of them all. Not only was his breath dwindling from his lungs, but now that racist bastard had stolen Uncle Iroh away, all because he failed: **again**. Appalled at himself for it all, Zuko made little attempt to stay awake. The darkness covered his senses once more, and he passed out.

-------------------------------------

Narada: Whew! Act 6 is up at last! I was aiming to outdo Act 5, so sorry if I took too long.

Tallok: You certainly have in **my** book, Narada!

Narada: Thanks!

Aoina: Coming up next, Day 2 arrives, and a certain someone joins in on the investigation!

Tallok: Really? Who?

Aoina: Patience Tallok. You'll find out next act!

Tallok:grumble:


	8. Act Seven: Prelude to a Raid

It wasn't long after the Green Spirit had made his exit than Aoina had begun to return from the cafeteria. As the door drew closer, she called rather cheerfully.

"OK Iroh, I'm back. They were out of ginseng so I got you some-."

As Aoina finally stood before the door, she soon noticed the constant blaring of the emergency alarm. Swinging open the door, she only barely managed to take in the scene within. The window was broken, Iroh was nowhere to be found, and Zuko lay strewn about the bed, his breathing tube severed. Stunned, she dropped the lunch tray.

"Oh my God…" She instantly turned back toward the door, entering the hallway.

"Nurse!" Aoina thought little of running down the hall, looking for any staff willing to listen. "Nurse!"

About halfway toward the doorway, her phone rang yet again. Groaning, she picked up.

"Guys, this is **not** a good time!" She half-yelled into the phone. "I left Iroh alone with Zuko for just one second and all heck broke loose!"

"Really?" Tallok said shocked on the other line. "We'll be right over. But for now, that clue I found on the floor at the theater? It was a gold insignia. Sound familiar?"

Aoina's eyes widened. "No way…"

**-Elsewhere-**

Sokka cringed at the sight of the damp walls. Was it just him, or was this place looking worse the longer he stayed here?

"Uhh, Suki? Just where are we going anyway?"

"Relax, I know where I'm going." Suki calmed him, "All the time I spent trying to find you gave me a general map of this place."

With that alone, they continued to descend the hall. At one point, however, it reached a dead end. Before Sokka could bring himself to turn back, Suki walked behind him and shut the doors.

"Suki?" Sokka drew away from her, more alarmed now. "What are you doing?"

Suki laughed, her eyes cutting directly into Sokka's. "I don't know what I ever saw in you. Don't you get it Sokka? This is a trap!"

Sokka instantly froze. He turned to run for the door, still praying internally that Suki was just messing with him.

But when the Green Spirit emerged from the shadows, it was clear that she wasn't. GS approached Suki steadily, eyeing Sokka on occasion.

"Excellent work, drawing out our little runaway like that." He commented at her. "And all just one day since I'd hired you."

"Anytime." Suki smirked.

"You work for him?" Sokka finally managed to speak despite the shock. "But Suki, why?"

"Mostly because of you!" Suki snarled. "Back at the party, I stop by the screening room for just one second and I see you…kissing that Yue girl! I couldn't believe I'd wasted a kiss before on a two-timing peasant like you!"

"What?" Sokka's eyes widened. "No Suki, it wasn't like that!"

"Enough." The Green Spirit interrupted Suki before she could respond. He then approached Sokka, a stone in hand. "Since you're going to die anyway, I may as well stop hiding from you."

In one quick gesture, he reached for the Green Spirit mask and dropped it to the ground. Sokka looked to the face underneath and gasped.

"You…you're…"

"Good night Sokka." GS interrupted once more, chucking the stone at Sokka. It hit him square in the forehead, and he dropped unconscious to the ground.

**-Back at the Hospital-**

A rush of air filled Zuko's lungs as he came to. In place of the Green Spirit, however, there was the attending nurse, the three MIA members standing not far off from the bed. The nurse sighed in relief as the fire prince opened his eyes.

"OK now he's in a much more stable condition." The nurse put her two paddles back onto the hook and looked to the three. "Well kids, I believe congratulations are in order. If you hadn't gotten me when you did it would've been a dark day indeed for Zuko fangirls everywhere."

"Glad to hear it." Tallok commented, provoking shocked looks from Aoina and Narada. He drew back. "I mean that we called on time. **Definitely** not that Zuko flat lined not two minutes ago, uh-uh."

Zuko looked around momentarily. "What happened? Where is he?"

"Where's who?" Narada turned toward him, dumbfounded.

"The guy that attacked me! He was here!" Zuko barely managed to push himself up. "Just now. He took Uncle Iroh!"

"No way!" Tallok nearly jumped back at Zuko's tone as he said this. "Now we got **three** hostages to handle? This is so screwed!"

"I'd be inclined to agree." Aoina nodded. "We've been sitting at the sidelines for way too long guys! I say it's time we take the offensive!"

"Wait a sec Aoina!" Tallok interrupted her briefly. "We don't even know where he is!"

"I might." Zuko reflected further on the previous events.

_-Flashback-_

"So the Fire Nation pig survived eh?"

The all-too-familiar masked figure loomed above Zuko. Yet somehow, Zuko's eyes focused on something white poking out of his pocket.

As the Green Spirit reached for the stolen kitchen knife, his hand briefly pushed up the paper, and for a brief moment a patch of writing that must have been an address was visible. Zuko didn't think much of it at the time, and then…

"Do me a favor, you worm. **Stay** dead this time."

It took only a brief moment before the assailant slashed the breathing tube, and a not-so-brief moment before he passed out.

-_End Flashback_-

"So you know where this guy's new hideout is?" Narada's expression brightened instantly.

"I can't say for sure," Zuko turned slightly crestfallen as he said this, "Although the address was something on Camden Drive."

"Gotcha." Aoina stood, giving a slight sigh. "Well we won't stop this psycho by just sitting here all night! Let's go!"

"Whoa whoa whoa **whoa**!" Narada interrupted. "It's getting way too late. If the cops don't see us home by now, we may as well have never left the house. I say we get back and save the raid for tomorrow so we can actually do something about this, and so we don't waste our efforts just so we can be sealed up in the house until these _brutos_ show up with three dead bodies and no Green Spirit."

Zuko clenched both fists, especially at the mention of 'three dead bodies'. Nonetheless, he took a deep breath to just barely settle himself.

"She has a point." He conceded. "So let's just go. I need to check out of here anyway."

**-Several Hours Later, Tallok's Place-**

Amid the various snores and breaths of the girls' bedroom, Narada pushed herself up from the mattress and wove her way to the door. Walking toward the kitchen, she was just about to pour herself some herbal tea when…

"You too huh?"

Narada turned to the source of the voice. There sat Zuko, already taking a sip from his own teacup.

"You couldn't sleep either?" She queried.

"Guess not." He shrugged. "But I was thinking, about what you said back at the hospital."

"You have?" Narada raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. All this time I was a sitting duck." Zuko lamented, "That was the only reason the Green Spirit managed to attack us tonight. But not anymore."

"Is this going where I think it's going?" Narada asked calmly.

Zuko made the first real glance at Narada as he answered.

"I want to join you guys on the raid tomorrow."

"You could've just said so, you know." Narada almost laughed. "Now you gotta go through the initiation."

"Initiation?" Zuko raised an eyebrow.

"Yep. It starts with each of us getting back to bed." Narada teased. "If Tallok and Aoina have any idea we're still up this late, they may stay behind just for us to make up the time."

"Good point." Zuko laughed, before standing up. "Well, good night then."

"Night." She yawned, as she left for the girls' room and Zuko for the boys' room.

Narada wove once again through the beds before happening on Aoina's bed. She reached a hand toward the girl's shoulder, but then stopped and let the hand go slack.

"Hmm, maybe tomorrow." She shook her head slightly before returning to the empty mattress and returning to the silence of sleep.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Narada: Whew! Be thankful I could get that up at all because my fall term just started at school.

Aoina: I know I am! Anyways coming up next, the big raid takes off, and I'd tell you something else about it but that'd be too much of a spoiler.

Tallok: You know I can't really believe Suki did it. And she and Sokka were so cute together, what a shame!

Aoina: Well what's done is done! She's going down, and so is our little green pal!

Tallok: True dat Aoina, true dat.


	9. Act Eight: Super Avatar State GO!

Narada: Heya people! Miss us?

Aoina: So sorry for having taken well over a year for this.

Narada: Funny story. I hit a serious writer's block so I asked Aoina to write the rest, but unfortunately she was busy, so I decided to take it up again. So I'm not too sure how it turned out.

Tallok: Well anyways, for the record: we **thought** this was gonna be the last chapter of this fic, but as it turns out, no. We're gonna have exactly one more after this, and hopefully it won't take as long as this!

Aoina: So yeah. We don't own Avatar, all material belongs to its respective copyright owners, and all that obligatory legal stuff. Gaah, can we please start the chapter now?

-----------------------------------------------------------

Golden slivers of light crept through the windows as dawn at last arrived. So naturally some of the guests -including Tallok and Katara- were wide awake at this point. As if in anticipation, the two set themselves down before the computer, AOL Instant MessengerTM currently running.

"Where's Narada?" Katara asked, looking around.

"She overslept, again." Tallok shook his head. "Aoina's going over to wake her up as we speak."

"This is serious!" Katara half-yelled. "We're just a few minutes shy of this guy's deadline!"

"I know, but she's on the way." Tallok leaned back. "Knowing Narada, once someone prods her out of bed, she's out."

As if prophetically, Narada yawned lightly as she lagged slightly behind Aoina, herself followed by Zuko, before she sat down with the others. Narada smoothed out her purple Tinkerbell pajamas and took out her glass of milk. Katara's eyes narrowed on seeing Zuko.

"What are **you** doing here?"

"Oh so suddenly you're the only one who can care about someone?" Zuko snapped.

"I know **you** can't." Katara retorted, "Face it Zuko. The only one **you've** ever cared about is yourself!"

"Why you…!" Zuko's hand lit aflame and was about to strike at Katara, before Narada stepped in.

"Save it for the show you two!" She half-yelled, "Zuko, get ahold of yourself. That kind of temper will get you in trouble someday. And Katara, that whole only-caring-about-yourself bit was uncalled for. Don't let it happen again."

"What do you mean it was uncalled for?" Katara growled, "I'll bet the only reason he's helping now is so he can capture Aang himself!"

At this Zuko and MIA froze, looking amongst themselves in a silent shock. Katara fell silent for a moment.

"What?"

"Should I?" Narada asked uncertainly.

"I'll do it." Aoina sighed, then glanced back to Katara. "The guy kidnapped Iroh too. Zuko's uncle."

Katara's eyes widened. "Wow." She paled, as though she'd committed a terrible crime. "Zuko, I'm so sorry."

"What's done is done, no sense thinking about it now." Zuko said simply, turning toward Tallok. "Any word from him yet?"

"None." Tallok sighed, immediately before a chime from the computer that startled everyone in the room, followed by a message window.

GREENSPIRIT247 has sent you an Instant Message.

"It's him." Katara nodded. "I don't think I can do this."

"Then don't. I got it taken care of." Narada sat down and clicked Accept. An AIM window opened, the avatar of the sender showing the green mask of their archenemy.

"Good morning MIA." The message read, followed by, "I trust you were well rested these past three days?"

"We would be if he weren't so active in all that time!" Aoina rolled her eyes. "Get to the point please." Narada was quick to type out that same message.

"Watch your tongue!" Was the response. Then there was a pause, before the next reply. "Now then. As you are all no doubt aware by now, my deadline is today. Do you have the Freedom Fighters ready for delivery as agreed?"

"Yeah Toph talked it over with the warden." Narada typed. "So we'll be all set before the day is done."

"Excellent." GREENSPIRIT247's response read. "That being said, I'll leave you now to prepare for the exchange."

"Hold it, hold it. May I?" Tallok motioned toward the computer. Narada stepped aside and let him type. "Wait." He typed. "You're supposed to give us proof of life before any exchanges are made. Come on man, that's Hostage Taking 101!"

"Fair enough." The Green Spirit typed out. "Meet me at Mr. Wok on the corner of 8th and Newton in exactly one hour. Then I'll show you all the proof of life you'll need."

At this, everyone immediately looked to Narada, who threw her hands up in an instant.

"I know, I know, 'Get dressed Narada!' I'm on it."

She stood up and raced back to the girls' bedroom. Tallok raised an eyebrow and typed. "Deal. Seeya there." Before signing off.

"Someone wake up Toph. We're on the move!" Aoina called out before running out to the car. But then she felt something on her leg and looked down to see Meng and Koko.

"You're gonna do it? You're really gonna bring Aangy back?" Koko pleaded more than asked that question. "We wanna come too!"

Aoina glanced to Katara, who gently removed Meng and Koko from Aoina. They pouted as Aoina ran off.

"Tell you what." Katara then smiled. "They can drive to the rendezvous point, while we go on Appa. Sound good?"

Both little girls cheered and ran toward the other Kyoshi girls as Katara then left to tend to Appa.

**-One Hour Later, Mr. Wok Chinese Restaurant-**

Finding a conveniently single parking space between a blue sports car and a rusty beige van, Aoina slipped the car inside and switched off the ignition. Meanwhile, Appa landed a ways behind to keep from blocking the cars, as Katara and the Aang fangirls looked down in anticipation.

"Okay, we're here." Aoina said into the phone. "Now where are they?" As she asked this, Zuko, Toph, Tallok, and Narada all waited in anticipation within the two sets of backseat rows in the Chevy minivan.

"Relax Aoina, I'm in just as much of a hurry as you are." The Green Spirit seethed on the other end. Aoina instinctively turned to face the sports car, where the Green Spirit pulled up from crouching beneath the base of the windows, waving coyly to Aoina.

Only a few seconds later did he speak again. "Other side, kids."

No sooner had they all immediately turned to the other side than the rustic van started up, pulling out of the parking space, before coming to a stop directly in front of the minivan. Aoina hung up, and she and her passengers rushed out of the car and ran up behind the van as it came to a stop. Zuko instinctively produced a fire dagger in each hand, before Tallok gripped one wrist.

"Don't." He said worried. "If this is anything like the movies, that means they're inside."

Zuko took a deep, albeit shaky, breath and settled himself.

"Katara. You're late." The criminal said plainly. "Perhaps I should kill Sokka just for that…or Aang…maybe even both."

"Don't!" Katara cried out in shock. "Please, just don't." But to the Green Spirit, it was like she had never spoken.

"In fact, you were **all** late today. Late by exactly 3 seconds." He hissed. "And for that, all their lives are mine to dispose of, starting with, guess who?"

At once the back doors of the van flung open, leaving everyone standing there agape.

"Mmmm!" Aang looked back at the group, bound and gagged with duct tape on the floor of the van. A blue-streak brown haired girl stood just above him, a ridiculously high-tech rifle pointing downward at the young Avatar's head.

"Aang!" Katara ran toward the van, before being stopped by a slap in the face on part of the Green Spirit.

"Wave Maker?" Narada stood hard, before snapping herself back to reality. "Let him go, Wave! You'd only be making this harder on yourself!"

"You know them?" Toph asked.

"Just the girl. She's one of my biggest fans on my fan fiction website's Avatar section." Narada explained. "And all of a sudden she's got Aang at gunpoint? Wave, explain yourself!"

"Me?" Wave batted her eyes. "I'm just doing what you would never have the guts to do!" She eyed Zuko with contempt as she said this, before turning back to Aang and reaching for the trigger of her rifle.

Narada's eyes widened as she ran toward the van. Wave wasted no time in propping her rifle straight at Zuko. But by then Katara had already begun to stand up.

"No!" Narada reached forward, hoping to avert the rifle's new target…

_P-zhoom!_

All three girls' eyes widened, and before long the whole of the scene was frozen in time. The others could only watch as Katara groaned in pain, collapsing onto Tallok. Tallok stared in raw shock as she fell away from his grip down to the floor.

"MMMMMM!" Aang pulled away from Wave harder than ever. Wave looked down in horror as Katara's blood mingled with the water in her amulet, and in the confusion Wave only barely felt when Aang fell over.

His spirit too crushed to continue struggling, Aang hung over the side of the van, muffled crying sounds becoming audible as his tears fell on Katara's face. But soon even these sounds gave way to the surrounding silence. At once, Aang's arrow tattoo glowed, but not the usual white. Instead, it pulsated several different colors at once. This was clearly not the average avatar state.

"Tallok, what's going on?" Narada asked, standing back defensively.

"I have no idea." Tallok stood stunned as the rest of Aang's body glowed a bright white, his bonds incinerating into nothing as the light made contact. He levitated upward, melding a hole clear through the roof of the van.

At that moment, Aang screamed with such a force that it knocked every person in the area to the ground in one fell swoop. These shockwaves then returned toward Aang, four large orbs of shimmering energy gathering around him before descending upon the scene below. Three of them rained down on Tallok, Aoina, and Narada, knocking them to the ground as each orb made contact. The fourth landed on Katara's body, which immediately disappeared from sight, after which an unconscious Aang fell through the hole he made in the van roof and landed just behind Wave.

The MIA members pushed themselves off of the ground, each of them still enveloped in the strange glow.

"What was that?" Aoina got up onto her knees, examining herself and her two teammates.

"Enough." The Green Spirit forced himself up and got into the van. "Get us out of here!" He barked at Wave Maker. Wave hesitated, looking toward the crimson puddle where Katara once lay, before complying and driving off. Narada felt as much as heard him throw an envelope to the ground.

"Are you all right?" Zuko asked, concern sincere in his voice as he helped Narada up.

"Depends on what you call all right." Narada chuckled, looking to the envelope. "What is that?"

Toph picked up the envelope and casually pulled it open, prompting Tallok to approach. "What's it say?"

"Let's see…" Toph examined the note inside. "It says 'You're a total bonehead!' Hel-**lo!"**

"Oh yeah." Tallok slapped his forehead. "I can't believe I keep forgetting that!"

Aoina took the envelope and scanned through it, then stood hard as she read aloud.

"Your loved ones have all been marked for death, but as a token of good faith, I'm prepared to give you one last chance to save them. No ransom this time, just raw skill. United, MIA stands proud and tall, but divided, will they all crumble and fall? Only one way to find out." Aoina showed the note to Tallok and Narada. "It's got some addresses on the back."

Before Narada could comment, everyone heard a sudden blare of sirens from behind, prompting all to stare at the police van as it drove up behind them. Officer Marcus Jones then stepped out of the van.

"Don't take this the wrong way fellas, but now I can't be this permissive on you anymore." Marcus opened the back door. "Everybody get in, you're all being detained under reasonable suspicion for kidnapping."

------------------------------------------------------------

Tallok: Detained?!

Aoina; At least technically it's not jail.

Tallok: Well yeah but, come on man! Of all the times for the cops to catch us sneaking out of the house, they just had to pick tonight!

Narada: Coming up next-.

Aoina: Get over yourself, knucklehead! They were bound to find us out some time!

Narada: Coming up-.

Tallok: Yeah but that doesn't mean I have to like it!

Narada: Co-.

Aoina: It happened anyways, so just quit whining and-!

Narada: **Hey, do you mind?? I'm trying to do the follow-up here!**

Tallok: Oh, sorry.

Aoina: Go ahead.

Narada: Okay, as I was saying… Coming up next, the effects of Aang's super avatar state on the three of us become apparent, and Wave Maker makes a critical decision about her contract with the Green Spirit.

Tallok: You left out Katara. Let's just say she makes a comeback.

Aoina: Enough spoilers, you two. Let's just finish this chapter already.

Tallok: Good point. Wouldn't want to ruin our grand finale.


End file.
